A Spry Secret
by TheTimeIsRight
Summary: Artemis Fowl has returned to his normal life. But he has a secret... Artemis post - The Time Paradox. I might write more. Plz comment. Are any characters acting weird etc.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I do not Artemis Fowl or HIVE.

This is set after the original series.

Artemis Fowl sighed heavily as he entered Jerbal Argon's clinic for the fifteenth time. He really didn't need the thin gnome's advice again. He had the highest tested intelligence quotient in Europe, for goodness sake. He didn't need to know about what this dot meant, and what that picture said. It was hard enough pretending that he didn't have the memories with Holly, Foaly and the others. But he wouldn't have to pretend for too much longer, he hoped.

The nitrium door swung open and Jerbal Argon gestured for Artemis to come in. He sat down in a straight-backed birch chair, much unlike Jerbal's comfy velvet one. He looked in a happy mood. "Too bad for him," Artemis thought gleefully.

"So, Artemis. Tell me how you are feeling today."

"I feel like a normal teenage boy. In case you want to know." Artemis smiled smugly. He knew that in Section 26 of Jerbal's book, the Mind of a Mud Man, this was characterised as healing behaviour.

The gnome was cautious. He didn't allow himself to become too disappointed. Artemis was his new favourite patient. He had bought him Holly's respect. Jerbal was sure that Artemis was going to bring in more prizes, especially with the Imp Interconnection. Artemis noted carefully that the source of Jerbal's uncharacteristic joy was his healed leg.

"Tell me about this dot – "

"I see your leg has gotten better, Jerbal."

"I'm glad you noticed," Dr Argon thought, pleased, but a little unnerved. "I got a checkup with a Brazillian mentiroso. He did the most wonderful things to my leg, better than any warlock – "

"And I regret to tell you that the unlawful magic that he put to your leg will wear away right about – now." Artemis smiled smugly. He definitely didn't regret that. Jerbal's face was priceless, a mix of shock and horror. Jerbal howled in pain and clutched blearily at his foot.

"Do you know that mentiroso means liar in Portuguese?" Artemis smiled as he walked out of the door. It swung shut behind him, the mockery reverberating around the room.

Artemis Fowl, former child genius, now normal teenager, stalked out into the artificial light of Haven City.

"No trouble?" asked Butler, his giant Eurasian bodyguard, tense and careful as always. His chest heaved with the strain of his two former chest wounds and his Kevlar chest. Artemis noted this and thought about hiring another bodyguard, as he had for the last year. The problem was, no one else was up to the job, not even Juliet, who was trying for the blue diamond tattoo for the second time. Artemis responded with a slight shake of the head.

"Jerbal was annoying and predictable, as always."

"He'd better stay annoying and predictable, then." Butler insinuated carefully as they approached Police Plaza. Holly was planning to meet them and give Artemis her own recount of events.


	2. Chapter 2

A Spry Secret Part 2

The dim lights of Police Plaza shimmered in the background as Holly Short, Major of the LEP, sat down and waited for her company to arrive. And arrive they did.

"Hello, Holly." Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal genius approached Holly cautiously. Even he was not sure how to pretend that he did not possess the memories of his past self, and he was a child-no-longer genius. Butler shook hands with Holly.

"And what to do with you, I wonder?" Holly murmured under her breath. She shook off her unease and shook hands with Artemis, albeit a little more carefully.

"So what do you remember from the time when you defeated Opal Koboi?"

"Not really. I remember distinct images but not the whole picture." Artemis was proud of that statement. He copied it, word for word, from Argon's psychology notebook, Section 22B.

"Then what don't you –" Holly sighed in exasperation. It was confusing, treating Artemis with kid gloves. She had to make sure she didn't insult him in a way that would confuse his present self. The elf never thought she would say this, but she actually preferred her kidnapper to this. At least then, she could blast the problem with her good old Neutrino.

"Something on your mind?" Artemis asked, confused.

"Not really." Holly lied. She snapped herself out of her dazed stupor.

"So pretty much, Foaly defeated Opal. Although you had a part in it too." Holly elaborated.

"He defeated her with superior intellect," Artemis recited absentmindedly. Holly replied,

"Yeah, he did. I think –" She sat bolt upright, suddenly aware. "How do you know that?" Artemis realised his costly mistake as he tried to cover his tracks.

"You told me, remember?"

Holly frowned and instinctively scanned her memory, even though she hoped she would not find the answer. "No I didn't." Artemis cursed. For the first time in his life, he had been lazy. It was a very peculiar feeling. And consequences would follow.

"Artemis, answer me."

"I don't remember."

"I know –" She broke off mid-sentence. "What in Frond's name is that thing?" 'That thing' looked like Artemis Fowl, walked like Artemis Fowl and had that strange Artemis Fowl-like smirk that was ever-present on his Artemis Fowl-like face. Butler raised his Sig Sauer and Holly brought out her Neutrino. "Artemis?" she gasped. "Wait. D'arvit." Holly muttered. "What is going on?" She looked around. There was now an Artemis Fowl one, who was looking very resigned, and Artemis Fowl two, who was looking very confused. She wavered, waiting for one of the Artemises to give themselves away with an un-Artemis Fowl move. However, each Artemis Fowl was sizing up the other Artemis Fowl. That was when Butler tackled them both to the ground. He wasn't taking any chances.


	3. Chapter 3

A Spry Secret Part 3

The second Artemis rubbed his head instinctively and sat up slowly. "Where am I?" he asked warily.

Butler answered in his deep rumbling tones. "You are in Police Plaza."

"Where is Police Plaza?" Artemis no.2 thought. The other Artemis was crouched behind him. "Butler, what are you doing?"

"Are you Artemis Fowl?" Butler asked urgently, not directly answering the question.

"Of course I am Artemis Fowl." Artemis replied cynically. "Unless this scene is a figment of my imagination and you do not exist. But who is that small lady over there? And the man who is the mirror image of myself?"

"I am Artemis Fowl." The other Artemis uttered. He did not look confused. Perhaps he knew what happened.

"And I am Holly Short. For goodness sake, Arty, don't you remember me? And small lady? Really?" The elf-like woman hovered above him anxiously, despite her displeasure at being called a small lady.

"Small lady," Holly thought scornfully.

Artemis concentrated but there was no mention of this little woman. And then he remembered.

"You must get me back to my father. Please help me."

"Your, or rather our father is fine." The other Artemis assured him. The woman looked at him questioningly but he silenced her with a shake of his head.

"But he is in the Mafiya's hands! I must get him back! Butler, follow me." Artemis stood up and motioned for Butler, but he did not move. "Butler! What is the meaning of this! We must go! Angeline will be waiting!"

"Your mother is fine, Artemis." Butler said, a little confused. "She is home."

"But her memories!" Artemis couldn't believe how selfishly Butler was acting. "She'll lose her mind if we're not there!" Butler spun Artemis No.2 around. He breathed in deeply and resisted the urge to slap Artemis No.2.

"Artemis, stop hallucinating. Your mother and father are fine and the twins are with them."

"Twins? What twins?" Now Artemis was utterly and completely confused. Angeline had not been pregnant when he had last saw her.

"You know, Myles and Beckett."

"Who are Myles and Beckett? I hope Angeline can explain this."

Artemis tapped Holly lightly on the shoulder. "Holly, I think I know what has happened."

Holly whirled around angrily.

"You mean about your double and stuff?" In all honesty, she was confused and it was not fair to direct that towards Artemis. The teenager replied,

"I know. So you know when Foaly cloned me?"

"Yes." Holly answered doubtfully. It depressed her when the thought of her best friend being gone appeared.

Artemis's voice lowered to a whisper.

"I don't think he cloned me. You see, I still have my memories and everything. I think he took me from the past, you know, when I was dying."

"But you have two blue eyes!" Artemis answered by slowly popping his two sky-blue contact lenses out. One stayed blue, but the other turned hazel. Holly experienced an outbreak of emotions similar to the ones she experienced when she was going back in time. It was like he didn't travel through time, but she did. The first words that came out of her furious mouth were,

"How dare you even try to mislead me like that! I trusted you and… and…" Holly was distraught. The idea that Artemis had lead her on a thread of rope again really was the last straw. "I never thought you would do this again, Artemis. Once, but not again." She stood up and gave Artemis a glare that could have pierced through the LEP's most high-tech armour. Artemis stood up hastily. His chair clattered to the floor behind him.

"Holly! Just wait –". But she was already gone. "Hopefully our good friend Opal doesn't pay us a visit." Artemis muttered to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

A Spry Secret Part 4

"What did I do?" was his original petulant response. But he quickly dismissed that thought with another one – "I kind of brought that onto myself." Kind of was an understatement.

Artemis rubbed his tired eyes, first his blue one, and then his hazel one. They were tired from scrolling through thousands of educational fairy websites. However, his mind was far away, seeking a person who was not there. Thoughts of 'I bet Holly would laugh at this," and "She would think this was crazy," filled his overactive mind. One particular sentence from .gnom caught his eye.

"When the time stream is disrupted, people from the past will be summoned to the present," To which Artemis muttered, unconcerned but a little ruffled, "I think I could control that."

The second Artemis walked into Artemis's room. "I do believe that fairies exist, but for some reason I cannot summon the memories to the conscious mind," he said as though the reason could be conquered quite easily.

"Was I really this annoying?" Artemis no.1 thought, obviously annoyed. "Well, I don't understand why not," he told Artemis 2 huffily. Artemis 2 asked him arrogantly,

"Why aren't my memories being triggered? For god's sake, it can't be impossible to trigger them."

"Maybe it is!" Artemis 1 exclaimed angrily. "And even if it wasn't, I wouldn't help you!"

Artemis sighed as soon as he reached the roses in the Fowl Estate's front yard, although Artemis would prefer the term _lawn_. This was where he was cloned … thoughts filled his mind … he had to check. Artemis raced to the computer again, although the other annoying Artemis was already on it. "Do you know that _wabbit_ is a word?" Artemis 2 questioned. His twin brothers, Myles and Beckett were beside him, watching the screen. Artemis 1 knew that look. It was when Myles was thinking. And that never was a good thing. "Of course I do. Boys, go play." It wouldn't do to expose his brothers to technology too early, although Artemis had a sneaking suspicion that Myles already had. Something about … oh yeah, disappearing files. The boys slunk away, although a happy Beckett let out a passing comment,

"Artemis simple-toon."

Artemis no.1 rolled his eyes. He shouldn't have used that word in front of Beckett. Although, to be fair, he didn't know Beckett would take in that word. He rarely took in anything except that foul mixture of expresso and treacle that didn't deserve to be called a drink. Artemis 1 snapped back, ashamed that he still took the pleasure of thinking for granted.

Artemis knew what he had to do. He took in a sharp breath and grabbed a knife from the elaborate kitchen table. He walked out of the house again and calmed himself. "For Holly, for Holly," he muttered to himself. He slowly raised the knife in front of his chest, consoling himself that it would be quick. However, his subconscious mind started calculating and determined it would hurt. A lot. Without further ado, he quickly raised the knife and plunged it down into his chest. It found blood. The pain came afterwards.

"Those are pretty blue sparks," was his last thought before he blacked out. Painfully.


End file.
